I'm so out of touch on PCs now. need an asist

[Flyby]

HI Gang,

it's been a while since I've posted here. Get this: It's been six years since I've played a PC game or flown a flight sim. Oh I've bought some combat flight sims,just to support the genre. They sit unopened on the wife's PC desk.

 

Well now i"m getting close to getting back in the game. I think I've narrowed things down to a GPU and a CPU, but I'd like a bit of help in fleshing out the system. I think I'll go big on the GPU and get the Nvidia GTX 680 I (I recall dreaming of getting the GTX 480 at one time), and I think I can't go wrong with the I-5 2500K processor. I don't know of any benefit to combat flight sims of hyper-threading. Am I behind the times on that point?

 

Should I think of putting the OS and my sims on an SSD. Is PCIe-3.0 of any benefit to a gaming rig? What mobo maker offers a mid-level mobo that offers simple overclocking of the CPU (but doesn't cost a new-car payment)?

 

Can I assume that 8gigs of ram is well sufficient? Do you think my still-in-the-box new Cougar is out of date (let alone the old one I kept as a spare-parts source)?

 

Are modern TN monitors capable of rendering ghost-free performance for flight sims these days?

 

Think of running DCS Warthog, and IL2_COD as the standards with the goal of smooth, stutter-free performance.

 

thank you for your patience, and imput. As I aid, it's been six years, and I'm well behind the curve.

Flyby out

[MTFDarkEagle]

HI Gang,

it's been a while since I've posted here. Get this: It's been six years since I've played a PC game or flown a flight sim. Oh I've bought some combat flight sims,just to support the genre. They sit unopened on the wife's PC desk.

 

Well now i"m getting close to getting back in the game. I think I've narrowed things down to a GPU and a CPU, but I'd like a bit of help in fleshing out the system. I think I'll go big on the GPU and get the Nvidia GTX 680 I (I recall dreaming of getting the GTX 480 at one time), and I think I can't go wrong with the I-5 2500K processor. I don't know of any benefit to combat flight sims of hyper-threading. Am I behind the times on that point?

 

Should I think of putting the OS and my sims on an SSD. Is PCIe-3.0 of any benefit to a gaming rig? What mobo maker offers a mid-level mobo that offers simple overclocking of the CPU (but doesn't cost a new-car payment)?

 

Can I assume that 8gigs of ram is well sufficient? Do you think my still-in-the-box new Cougar is out of date (let alone the old one I kept as a spare-parts source)?

 

Are modern TN monitors capable of rendering ghost-free performance for flight sims these days?

 

Think of running DCS Warthog, and IL2_COD as the standards with the goal of smooth, stutter-free performance.

 

thank you for your patience, and imput. As I aid, it's been six years, and I'm well behind the curve.

Flyby out

Hi! I'll try and answer your questions as best I can:

 

A) GTX680 is a very nice card, but if only you are going to fly in simulators it's a bit overkill. You could also do with a 560ti or 570 (the latter sits in my machine quite comfortably :) ).

 

B) 2500K is a good CPU!

 

C) I've only got experience with ASUS motherboards, all are good, both in terms of reliability and overclockability.

 

D) 8 gigs of ram is plenty :)

 

I'll leave the rest for the more knowledgeable :)

 

Hope this helps!

[Flyby]

Hi! I'll try and answer your questions as best I can:

 

A) GTX680 is a very nice card, but if only you are going to fly in simulators it's a bit overkill. You could also do with a 560ti or 570 (the latter sits in my machine quite comfortably :) ).

 

B) 2500K is a good CPU!

 

C) I've only got experience with ASUS motherboards, all are good, both in terms of reliability and overclockability.

 

D) 8 gigs of ram is plenty :)

 

I'll leave the rest for the more knowledgeable :)

 

Hope this helps!

very good input, and thank you for replying. I guess I can save some money over the 680. Can I take it that the lower vram of the 570 has not been an issue for you? Are you running Black Shark, or A10 with no display issues?

thanks!

Flyby out

[MTFDarkEagle]

You can also consider the gtx580 for the extra memory if you need it (dependant on your monitor(s)). Yes, black shark and a-10c are ran here without any issues whatsoever!

 

My specs for what it's worth:

AMD Phenom II X5 955 @ 3.74Ghz

7GB DDR2-800

Asus Crosshair II Motherboard

Asus GTX570 Direct CU-II

Plently of HD space :P

 

Twin monitor, 1x 22 inch samsung (cockpit) and 1x 19 inch for the MFCD's and Shkval/Abris.

[Cedaway]

I5 2500K is already very powerful and has much room for OC. (With a good fan)

BTW, good choice thinking about Nvidia GPU. Avoid ATI for DCS. (I know that by experience...)

[Depth]

To answer what hasn't been answered :)

Oh I've bought some combat flight sims,just to support the genre. They sit unopened on the wife's PC desk.

Commendable

 

I don't know of any benefit to combat flight sims of hyper-threading. Am I behind the times on that point?

The performance you get is related to the clock speed and wether the program supports multiple threads. This shouldn't be an issue at all with an I-5 2500K, it already has 4 cores.

 

Should I think of putting the OS and my sims on an SSD.

Yep, you should think about it :P Extraordinary performance but a high price tag. Definately go for one if your budget holds for it

 

Is PCIe-3.0 of any benefit to a gaming rig?

Unless you're also getting a PCIe 3.0 card like the GTX 680, no. The computer you're building now will last a good two-three years or so with all newest game releases played on max graphics. Wether or not you upgrade by then is up to you, the only thing that would be likely to fail in the next 5 years is hard drives and the power supply

 

Are modern TN monitors capable of rendering ghost-free performance for flight sims these days?

Of course! Today it is all about digital cables :thumbup:

 

 

I strongly recommend you get a quality power supply unit. A Corsair TX750 covers your needs and I've had good experience with one in the past.

[EtherealN]

Regarding TN monitors - they're generally fine. I use a BenQ V2420H as the main screen myself. Though I'd definitely recommend ensuring that the unit you look at has LED backlighting - I much prefer the color saturation with those. Do make really sure to doublecheck some reviews on the screens you are considering though - for example, do NOT get the BenQ G2200WT (my secondary display). Lots and LOTS of ghosting, flickers, bleeds, poor color reproduction etcetera etcetera.

 

I'd say PCIe 3.0 isn't mission critical, but no reason not to get it if purchasing a computer now - might as well make sure to future-proof it.

 

Regarding future-proofing though, you could consider waiting for the Ivy Bridges. Though that would of course come at the expense of waiting for an unknown amount of time, and then becoming an "early adopter" which might carry it's own problems - especially if Intel's problems with Cougar Point is anything to go by. :P

[Pilotasso]

I almost fired up a 680 on my order list, though I thought it over and better leave any upgrades and builds for DCS: falcon. ;)

 

A 2500K+GTX 570 combo is pretty much high end for todays gaming on 1 monitor.

 

I have a dream for 3 monitor gaming but as I said I cannot justify the expense when I dont even know when the titles Im interested in are coming out.

 

If your not using the CPUs integrated graphics any motherboard using P67,H61, H77, Z68 or Z77 chipsets are just fine. PCI-e 3.0 or lack of it doesnt affect gaming perhaps except on quad GPU's (be them 7970's or 680's). It remanis to be seen.

 

So just pick the cheapest one that has the features you need.

[Depth]

I'd say PCIe 3.0 isn't mission critical, but no reason not to get it if purchasing a computer now - might as well make sure to future-proof it.

 

Regarding future-proofing though, you could consider waiting for the Ivy Bridges. Though that would of course come at the expense of waiting for an unknown amount of time, and then becoming an "early adopter" which might carry it's own problems - especially if Intel's problems with Cougar Point is anything to go by. :P

 

Waiting only means something bigger will be around the corner when you were planning on buying. Might as well wait for that, too :P

 

If you think you'll use the same socket for the next 5 years then by all means, get an expensive motherboard. If you might upgrade that too you might want to pay for a little less overkill.

[MTFDarkEagle]

Yes it's always a hard decision whether to go full broke and get the latest and greatest, or wait a while.

 

Mind you, for simulations a fast CPU is the most important (the other components are important as well off course).

 

 

*Woohoo #3000 :D

[Pilotasso]

Yes it's always a hard decision whether to go full broke and get the latest and greatest, or wait a while.

 

Mind you, for simulations a fast CPU is the most important (the other components are important as well off course).

 

 

*Woohoo #3000 :D

 

Spammer :D

 

wait... wohoo 9000

[EtherealN]

Waiting only means something bigger will be around the corner when you were planning on buying. Might as well wait for that, too :P

 

True in general, but it's not like Intel comes out with a new line every month (at least not for a given market segment). Remember, Ivy replaces something that has been out for more than a year - like the 2500k... ;) It's not like Haswell will be out a monthlater - Ivy will most likely have at least a year of shelf-life (and unless AMD does something drastic to suddenly become competitive, probably even more).

 

For me, that question is more about whether a wait for an uncertain amount of time is worth it - especially given that we don't know the risks of repeats of the Cougar Point debacle. It shouldn't be likely, but...

[Flyby]

Thank you all for your replies, and input. As I said, I've been away from the genre and PC gaming for 6 years. The next great thing is always around the corner, but I'm interested in getting back into the virtual air as soon as I can. Can't believe I've been away from it for so long, but RL has a way of dominating and imposing itself.

Great feedback, and much appreciated

Flyby out